Max Fisher of the Washington Post, noted that there was "something fishy" about the arrest. He described the "ham fisted" instruction letter from the video:

It lays out, in great detail and almost childlike prose that has been compared to the e-mail spam you might get from a "Nigerian prince," the CIA's offer: Share your "expertise" and we'll pay you $1 million per year.

Fisher may not buy it, but the jury's still out on whether American authorities do.